Spearheaded by 23-year-old entrepreneur Mate Rimac, the first drivable version of the Croatian supercar called “Concept One” has caused quite a stir among automotive and technology enthusiasts.
Completely electric-powered, the Concept One represents huge leaps in electric propulsion technology, not to mention an exceptional design. The company has spent years developing batteries and drivetrains on their “test mule” – an old BMW M3. And it is now ready to execute its concepts in what is sure to be a milestone supercar.
“We had to develop the entire car and thousands of parts from scratch,” says Mr. Rimac in an e-mail. “We had a tiny budget and team…. We didn't have any kind of government support (unlike GM, Tesla, Fisker and many others) [his parenthetical]It is also hard to make a high-end vehicle in a country where no automotive industry ever existed.”
Rimac doesn’t yet have plans to build a mass-market electric car like the Nissan Leaf, but the technology developed will surely influence the alternative-propulsion sector of the automotive industry.
